Football practice gear



July 3, 1962 e R MA T 3,042,404

FOOTBALL PRACTICE GEAR Filed April 26, 1961 GEORGE R. MA 5 TE RS INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented July 3, 1962 3,042,404 FOOTBALL PRACTICE GEARGeorge R. Masters, 4425 Morris Courts, Fort Worth,

Tex., assignor of one-fourth to Linus F. Hardin, Finis G. Cross, andMarvin De Woody, Houston, and N. H.

Conder, Baytown, Tex.

Filed Apr. 26, 1961, Scr. No. 105,615 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-55) Thisinvention relates to practice gear for athletes and is of the typedesigned to take the place of other players so that one man can practiceindependently. More particularly this invention relates to a device bymeans of which a football player can gain proficiency in various playsimportant to the game without the necessity of other players taking partin the practice,

It is a primary object of this invention to supply a lone footballplayer with equipment wherewith he can go through several basic playingroutines repeatedly without the help of other players, and it is afurther object of this invention to speed up these routines in a mannerto compress more practice into a given time schedule and also to put amaximum speed requirement on the reflexes and coordination of theplayer.

By equipping a squad with a number of these devices it is possible tohave all the men constructively occupied during the practice periodinstead of having to wait on the few in active practice.

The versatility and usefulness of this invention will become apparentfrom the following description which is illustrated by the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a general View showing how the invention is worn by theplayer.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective detail of the headgear.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of how the gear is attached to afootball.

FIGURE 4 is a top View of the headgear shown in FIG- URE 2.

The form of the invention herein illustrated consists of an elastictether or cord attached by a swivel 11 and a snaflle hook 12 to a ring13 afiixed to an adjustable fabric headband 14. This headband 14 isequipped with a buckle 15 whereby it can be adjusted to fit any player.A strap 16 runs over the top of the head to aid in securing the headband14 in its correct position, Rings 13! and Br are affixed to headband 14to provide alternate points of attachment for tether 10 by means ofsnafiie hook 12.

An additional swivel 17 and snaffle hook 18 serve to connect the otherend of the tether 10 to a regulation football 19 which has sewed intoone end a leather or plastic loop 20 holding a ring 21 to receivesnaflie hook 18. The elastic tether 10 can be made of latex in strapform as shown or can consist of a bundle of elastic cords sheathed instretchable fabric such as the Bee Gee cords used in the flyingservices.

The primary purpose of this practice gear is to :give the footballplayer extra training in passing and receiving, but other incidentaluses will become apparent. The player dons the headband 14 and bucklesit to a snug fit. If he is right handed, he hooks the tether 10' bymeans of snaffle hook 12 to the ring 131' over his right temple. Withthe ball 19 attached to the other end of the tether 10,

it is now ready for play. He may throw the ball toward a selected targetin any of the usual ways and when the ball reaches the end of the tether10 and stretches it to the limit of the balls energy, it returns to theplayer as if passed back by another player, except that it returns morequickly than if caught and thrown back. This puts the player on hismettle to be ready to receive the ball and results in a quicker practicesession than if two or more players were taking part. If the player usesthe popular spiral throw the swivels 11 and 17 allow the ball tocontinue its spinning motion even on its return and the player can learnto receive a spiral ball as if it were thrown by another player. Theflexibility of the gear also makes it possible for the player to turnand run away from his throw and receive the ball over this shoulderwhile running as is usually required in receiving forward passes. Thetether being attached to the ring 13r over his right temple helps toreturn the ball to the best position for a good catch.

A left handed player would, of course, attach the tether 10 to the ring13l over his left temple. The swivels 11 and 17 not only facilitate thepractice of spiral throws, but help to keep the gear from ever becomingtwisted and tangled. The center ring 13 can be used for practice in dropkicking and in snapping the ball as if from center to one of thebackfield. However, in the case of drop kicking the ball returns withsuch force that it might be preferred to attach the tether to one of theside rings so that the player can receive it off to one side and avoidgetting hit in the face.

It can be seen that this practice gear is not only simple andeconomical, and extremely compact for storage, but that also it can beused in a variety of ways to speed up practice in the basic skill offootball handling.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary construction herein shownand described, but may be made in various ways within the scope of theappended claim.

What is claimed is:

A practice gear for football players comprising:

an adjustable head band,

rings mounted on the front of said head band, one said ring beinglocated in the center thereof and a second said ring to the left and athird said ring to the right thereof,

an elastic tether,

a snafile hook on one end of said tether and adapted to engage one ofsaid rings,

an ellipsoidal football,

a loop of flexible material in one end of said football, the extendingends of said loop being secured inside of the end of said football,

a ring in said loop, and

a swivel connecting the last named ring with the end of said elastictether opposite said snaflle hook.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS667,563 Oakley Feb. 5, 1901 1,459,705 Bullock June 19, 1923 1,618,273Davidson Feb. 22, 1927 1,655,599 Dolan Jan. 10, 1928 1,708,796 LawrenceApr. 9, 1929 1,941,877 Brazeau Jan. 2, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,042,404 July 3, 1962 George R.Masters It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numberedpatent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should readas corrected below.

In the grant, lines 1 to 3, for "George R. Masters, of Fort Worth,Texas, assignor of one-fourth to Linus F. Hardin,

' Finis G. Cross, and Marvin De Woody, of Houston, and N. H.

Conder, of Baytown, Texas," read George 11. Masters,

of Fort Worth, Texas, assignor of one-fourth each to Linus F. Hardin,Finis G. Cross, and Marvin De Woody, of Houston, and N. H. Conder, ofBaytown, Texas, lines 12 and 13, for "George R. Masters, Linus F.Hardin, Finis G. Cross, Marvin De Woody, and N. H. Conder, their heirs"read Linus f F. Hardin, Finis G. Cross, Marvin De Woody, and N. H.Conder, 5 their heirs in the heading to the printed, specification,lines 3 to 6, for "George R. Masters, 4425 Morris Courts, Fort Worth,Tex. assignor of one-fourth to Linus F. Hardin, Finis G. Cross, andMarvin De Woody, Houston, and N. H. Conder, Baytown, Tex." read George11. Masters, Fort Worth, Tex. assignor of one-fourth each to Linus F.Hardin, Finis G. Cross, and Marvin De Woody, Houston, and N. H. Conder,Baytown, Tex.

Signed and sealed this 18th day of December 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

